


And the Snow Will Ever Fall

by Nomus



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Its going to get explicit later, Mentions of Rape, Mentions of incest, Mercenaries, Military Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-28 09:51:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7635658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nomus/pseuds/Nomus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wrote this for a friend using characters from an rp we did long ago.</p><p>The mercenary group Shattered Sky is one of the most successful and revered military units in the world.  They only recruit the best and they'll take any mission for the right price.  Captain Jonathan Sykes is their leader, he is ruthless, commanding, and tactically sound of mind but all of that came into question the day he recruited a strange Russian woman wounded on the streets of Moscow. </p><p>This is the story of Divinia Romanov.</p><p>This is the story of the Shattered Sky.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [plumeriafairy14](https://archiveofourown.org/users/plumeriafairy14/gifts).



The cigar burned against the suffocating darkness, lighting up the features of the man’s face as he stepped across the floor of the empty warehouse.  Divinia Romanov couldn’t move.  All she could hear were the man’s footsteps resounding over the sound of uncaring rain.  Divinia struggled as she felt her cheeks grow wet with tears, the only warmth she felt against the cold concrete beneath her.  The man removed the cigar from between his lips, waving it through the air as the smoke shrouded his face from her view.  He knelt down, his knees apart as he looked at her through the cloud enveloping his face.

“Mm… Do you smell that, Divinia?  Pure Cuban, the smoke reminds me of something.” The man hummed as he waved his fingers, cutting through the smoke.  “Ah yes… reminds me of our father, a shame neither you nor Ivan will be able to make it to the funeral.” Evan smiled as he wore the smoke like a mask.

Divinia tried to speak but her mouth wouldn’t open; her body refused any command she gave it.  The poison running through her veins had made sure of that.  She could still feel every sensation tingling through her flesh but not a single nerve would budge.  Ivan’s groans filled her ears as the sounds of his shuddering body as he fought through their brother’s venom.

“Well that’s a bother, I was hoping to take care of you after.” Evan raised the handgun over Divinia, firing a single shot.  Divinia felt the burning hot casing land against her face, scorching her flesh before she heard the sound of Ivan hitting the concrete.  Her ears rang and the muzzle flash burned a white spot in her eyes, floating before her like a vengeful spirit.  She could see the smile on Evan’s face as he lowered his weapon and his gaze returned to Divinia.

“I suppose now I can at least take my time…” Evan ran the cold steel of his gun against Divinia’s burned cheek.  “It would be a damn shame to let my beautiful sister go to waste like poor Ivan.”

* * *

Divinia’s eyes broke open and she felt the cool flecks of snow landing against her face, her raven black hair hung lower against her back as she was bundled up in the blanket that came with her field kit.  She felt the sweat running against her brow as she reached up to touch the scar on her right cheek.  As she shifted against the broken concrete column she had propped herself up against her commanding officer, Captain Jonathan Sykes, glanced back at her from his binoculars.

“Have that dream again?” He said, his voice low and almost calming as he looked back through his binoculars.  “I won’t pry, but you should talk to the battalion psych officer about it.  I can’t have it affecting your performance.”

“It won’t.” Divinia lied, pulling the blanket off of her body as she crawled back over to her position behind the M107 rifle, glancing at the target sight through her scope.  She had already long made the adjustments to the scope as soon as they had arrived almost thirty-six hours prior.  “How long until the target arrives?”

“Should be about thirty minutes, I’ve already contacted Markus and Henri.  They both have their teams in position to cover Stelian if things go hot.  Hopefully Stelian’s bodyguards will be enough to deter any rash behavior on Yanovich’s part.” Sykes’s eyes never left his binoculars.

They were here to secure an arms deal between Yanovich and themselves, they had grown short on weapons and ammunition after their last big job and needed to secure a new supplier after their last one caught a bad case of the dead.

Divinia closed her eyes and concentrated on everything Sykes had taught her, from day one of her training to now at that tense moment before a fight.  It was always the worst for Divinia; everything leading up to it she could handle and everything that came during and after.  It was that moment just before the first shots were fired that caused her chest to tighten and her stomach to turn.  Sykes had said that she could use this to her advantage, ‘Just always make sure you’re the one shooting first.’ He had said to her.  Sykes’s advice could always be summed up as ‘take a decisive action and commit to it.’

In a way Divinia looked up to him; she envied his confidence and his rock solid demeanor.  He lacked the rage of Markus Caine and the caring heart of Henri Revenue, but he was not cold.  It was more like he was made of stone, unflinching and reliable.  He had built up his body after years of battle and conflict and came away with fewer scars than most of the men who had been with them for half as long.  The flecks of grey had begun to show in his hair; it didn’t surprise Divinia.  He was old enough to be her father, and he had been with Shattered Sky longer than anyone else still living.

The time passed, and to Divinia it felt like she had been staring down the sight of her weapon for hours.  A voice crackled over their headsets and Divinia felt it, her stomach dropping inside of her and the cold sweat perspiring across her flesh.

“Stelian here, I see our potential business partner, his convoy is coming in east of my position.  He’s about one klik out, over.” Stelian spoke into his own headset, his men gathered around him, their weapons lowered but each of them ready to tear into their enemy.

Divinia shifted her sights over, spotting the convoy of trucks and light armored vehicles moving in.  She heard a familiar sound of rotors cutting through air and she raised her sights up, catching a glimpse of an MI-24 Hind D.  “Show offs….” She heard Sykes muttered before calling out the Gunship to Henri and Markus, making note that that thing was probably equipped with thermals.

“So, who is this Yanovich, I never heard of him until now.” Divinia asked as she tried to calm her heart.  She had remembered many men passing through her family’s home, most of them military or government officials.  Some of them may have even been with the mob, but Divinia was left out of such discussions.

“Government official, corrupt as all hell but willing to sell just about anyone weapons for the right price.” Sykes watched the helicopter as it began to circle the meeting site.  He mumbled something, but it was too low for Divinia to hear over the sound of moving vehicles and machinery.

* * *

Stelian looked down at his cell phone, noting the time before placing it back in his front coat pocket.  His suit was a shade of grey, tailored to his body and covering the tattoos he had accumulated over his body during his stay in prison.  He hadn’t expected such a party to be arriving, and it gave him pause as he inhaled the last bit of smoke from his cigarette before tossing it aside.  

From the first truck a group of soldiers stepped out, checking the area and scoping out Stelian and his men.  Stelian didn’t flinch, keeping his hands in his pockets and his eyes behind his sunglasses.  

“Oi, is Yanovich coming or am I going to have to talk to a bunch of meatheads.” Stelian yelled out at the group of soldiers before another man, in his late twenties, stepped out from the one car in the convoy.  He wore a black suit, tucking away his sunglasses into the front pocket as he approached Stelian.

“Sykes… that isn’t Yanovich.” Stelian said over the mic hidden in the collar of his shirt.  Stelian knew how to put on a good show, he knew how to come off as unshakable as lead, but inside he was roiling with anxiety and uncertainty.  “And who is this?  I was told I would be meeting Yanovich.”

“Yanovich couldn’t make it, I’m afraid he was picked up by police for his… indiscretions.  You’ll be dealing with me in his place.” The man said to Stelian as he approached.

“And just who are you then?” Stelian asked again, his lips turning into an uneasy frown.

“You may call me Romanov, Evan Romanov.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

The world felt very small.  Divinia could feel her older brother’s hot breath against her neck even as she watched him through the scope of her rifle.  Her fingers were trembling against the trigger and her breaths became erratic.  All sound was blotted out by the thoughts cutting through her mind; Evan looked in her direction and raised a finger at her.  Divinia could see Evan mouth the word ‘Bang’ as he mimed the recoil of a gun.

“Take Cover!” Sykes voice broke the silence as he grabbed Divinia and dragged both of them behind one of the thick columns that lined the broken windows of the building.  The world around Divinia came alive with fire and dust and metal as the MI-24’s autocannon tore the floor they were on to pieces.  Bits of concrete and rebar lay scattered around Divinia and Sykes’s feet as he held her against his body; his arms wrapped around her waist.  The radios on their shoulders erupted with the sounds of gunfire and Stelian’s panic.

“Fuck!  Fuck!  It was a setup!  Get me the hell out of-  I need fucking extraction!” The sound of his voice was dotted with the background noise of gunfire and explosions and the sound of men dying.

“Henri, Markus, extract Stelian and then get to the rendezvous point.” Sykes didn’t sound the least bit perturbed by the still circling helicopter as he spoke into the radio.  He placed a hand on Divinia’s shoulder and after a few moments of silence spent listening to the gunship’s rotors cutting through air he spoke, “On my count, sprint for the stairwell.”

Divinia clutched her sidearm, a Skorpion, and waited for Sykes.  He gave the signal and she ran; her feet pounded against crumbling concrete as Sykes wheeled around the column, taking shots at the gunship before it could make another pass.  Cover was meaningless so long as they were in front of that thing’s guns.  Divinia rushed against the railing as she heard the sounds of Sykes running in behind her, holding his SCAR-H close.  “Alright, we rappel down, just like we practiced.” Sykes hooked himself onto his line and Divinia did the same; the both of them sliding down the rope through the center of the stairwell.

“That gunship probably has a full load of troops waiting to ambush as soon as we step out of the building, if it doesn’t decide to empty those rocket pods into it first.” Sykes said as they both reached ground level, “You ready?” He asked.

Divinia nodded, the shock had worn off and the adrenaline had taken over.  Her brother was less than a kilometer away now, but she had more pressing matters.  Matters that became ever more apparent as Sykes and Divinia cleared through the doorway; their weapons spit fire and hot lead as they moved to cover behind a few overturned desks.  Several of the soldiers were incapacitated or killed by the initial fire; Sykes cracked a smirk as he realized they hadn’t been expecting the both of them to make it to the bottom floor first.

Divinia grit her teeth and fired her weapon as Sykes hurled a frag grenade across the room and towards the enemy.  The explosion was deafening and even at this range Divinia and Sykes both felt the shockwave rock through them, taking their breath away for just a moment as they emerged from cover.  Divinia spent her rounds into the bodies of any soldiers who remained alive; they writhed on the ground, wounded and begging in Russian for mercy.  Divinia had none left to give, she executed every single one she stepped over on the way out the front doors.

Sykes motioned for Divinia to stick close as they made their way cautiously along the buildings and through the streets of the ruined city.  The gunship circled overhead, searching for them as they cut through buildings and back alleys.  Divinia cursed in Russian, her native tongue, beneath her breath for having to leave the rifle behind.  With some luck and skill she could have brought down that beast so long as she sent a round through the engine or better yet, the cockpit.

Divinia and Sykes crouched low against the edge of the windows as they moved through a bar; little of the furniture remained, but it was apparent that this building saw heavy use in its lifetime.  They heard the sounds of soldiers moving nearby.

“Henri, Markus, Stelian, status report, over.” Sykes whispered into the radio before waiting those few tense moments for any sort of response.

“Henri here, we’ve taken light casualties and are transporting both Stelian and the wounded to the rendezvous point.  You wouldn’t happen to be able to call in support; a gunship of our own would be real nice right about now.”

“This is Markus, my team has taken heavy casualties covering Henri’s exit but we’re… ugh… retreating now.  One wounded, but he elected to stay behind and prepare a parting gift for our friends.” 

“They killed all of my bodyguards, Sykes, every single goddamn one.  I’d say it's a miracle I survived but if I was going to die I would’ve done so already.”

“Roger, keep moving to the rendezvous point; if Divinia and I haven’t reached the point in thirty minutes the leave without us; we’ll find our own way out from there.”  Sykes gave the orders and held a fist up as he and Divinia both listened to the movement outside of the bar.

The soldiers drew close, and they had dogs with them.  The sound of some tracked vehicle followed them.  These soldiers weren’t here just to fight, they were here to hunt.  Sykes signaled with his hand as he and Divinia began to creep along just below the windows as the soldiers passed by.  Divinia watched Sykes as he moved in such silence for a man his age and size.  He climbed out from a window and into an alley behind the building as the soldiers passed them by.  His feet hit the wet, snow covered bricks between the buildings as he continued to move.

“Sykes, we’ve made it to the rendezvous point.  Extraction is on its way; you better hurry.” Henri’s concern could be heard.  Sykes responded with a half-hearted affirmative.

“How are you doing for ammo?” Sykes stopped and asked Divinia.  Divinia looked over her gear as Sykes took account of his own.

“I’ve got two magazines left and a frag grenade.” Divinia said as she dropped the magazine from her gun and checked how many rounds were left before stuffing it back inside. 

“Damn, I’m running low too.  Looks like we better keep this quiet.” Sykes leaned out from the alley as he watched another patrol walk away from them down the street.  The both of them moved across the open road and into the back alley across from them.

Sykes knew they had to make it to the river; from there they could travel along its banks fast and unseen to the extraction point.  He ran his fingers across the red brick wall as he eyed two soldiers blocking their path; their backs were turned and they seemed to be having a chat.  Divinia raised her weapon but Sykes slowly pushed it back down, putting a finger in front of his lips as he drew his knife.  Divinia did the same as she walked low alongside Sykes.  The fight was over quick as they grabbed the soldiers from behind and slit their throats open before they could react.  Divinia pushed the blade in deep as she cut, severing the vocal chords so he could not scream for help.  He couldn’t even let out a garbled, gargling mess of sound as blood spilled from his neck and soaked into the ground.

Sykes took out a cloth and wiped his blade clean, “So, what had you so spooked back there?” He asked as he grabbed the legs of the soldier he killed and began dragging him back into the alley.  Divinia felt a pang in her chest, but how could she think of a thing as petty as embarrassment now of all times.

“It was my brother; the man Stelian met was my brother, Evan.” Divinia spoke his name in the same manner that one spits out tobacco.  She had told Sykes the abridged version of how she came to be living on the streets of Moscow when he found her, but to go too deep would dredge up some things best left forgotten.

“You…” Sykes rolled the words around in his mouth, “Want to stick around and kill him?” He said as he got ready to continue their path to the riverside.

Divinia wanted to, oh god she wanted to.  She wanted to find him and slit his stomach open, but she shook her head.  “No, the mission comes first.  I can deal with him later.”

“Good girl.” Sykes gave Divinia a toothy smile as the both of them moved back out onto the street with their guns raised.  

It was this praise that broke down the wall of ice Divinia encased herself in, if only for a moment.  It was the first time she had felt warmth since finding herself pressed against that cold warehouse floor.

“Damn!” Sykes spoke between his teeth as they reached the river only to find it crawling with enemy soldiers cordoning it off.  “They’re onto us, they’re probably setting up roadblocks all around this area to box us in… Just how many men does your brother have?”

“Knowing him, I would not be surprised if he held the leash of an army.” Divinia said, “Do you have a plan?”

“Hrm…” Sykes did that thing again, where Divinia could almost see him chewing on his words.  “We disappear.”  He held the radio close, “Henri, we’re not going to make extraction.  You know what to do.”


End file.
